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Thursday, 8 November 2018

A whole load of fun making candles

On Tuesday 6th November 2018 we had our first 'proper' session experimenting with making candles with candle making instructor Ruth Lee.
This is one of a number of practical "Learning Sessions" covering a range of different topics that people with experience and knowledge would like to share. We already had a Soap making session, click the link to read more about that, and also a Liver Cleanse session. Practical Learning Sessions are beginning to ignite the imagination and already a range of new sessions are under discussion. Look out for more coming soon.

Back onto the candle making... We began by melting the wax in a stainless steel container ready for creating dipping candles. Basically a long thread of wick is repeatedly dipped in liquid wax. On each successive occasion more wax solidifies around the wick until a tapered candle is the end result. Ruth also showed us how to create twisted candles using this technique.

During the process a delivery of additional candle making equipment and more wax appeared so that we could experiment with pouring, colouring and moulded candles. There is a huge amount of options and variations in the types of candles that can be made, the waxes that can be used, colours, scents and how they can be decorated. The only limitation appears to be your imagination and... how much you practice.

Is candle making dangerous? Well you are using a substance which is hot... yes candle wax does cool quickly however it requires a certain level of respect. A good friend and local business owner Michael Morgan (Safety Action Services) has written a Health & safety document for Ruth which we want through. Most of it common sense but useful to be reminded of course.

It's not all work and no play at this session though as you will see from the video below. Actually candle making is huge fun and with Christmas coming up, birthdays, gifts for occasions, candles are always warmly welcome. I don't know about you but bright lights have never been my thing, give me the soft gentle glow of a candle (or a lot of candles) it immediately brings a warmth and completely different atmosphere to any room

We also had a go at recycling old candle glasses and T-Lights with a bit of dedication you can re-wick these and pour wax to refill and produce a whole host of new candles quickly and easily. Surprisingly you can use a lot of equipment you probably already have in your kitchen, but as with anything the more you get into it the more investment you might decide to make on your new hobby...